Best method for duplicating favorite board

I’m trying to figure out how to duplicate my 1986 BC, an 8’6" singlefin that is my go to board for years now. I am an utter novice in the shaping bay and would appreciate any suggestions. The guy who shaped it in '86 from BC in San Clemente reportedly moved to Baja a few years ago so finding the original maker would be difficult, and I don’t have access to anything which might computer template it for me. Just how many specific measurements would I need to remake it? I’ve read that transitioning a tried & true shape to Surftech, for example, can take hundreds of measurements. Thanks much, any info is a big help.

buy twenty blanks

have em all made to the exact specs of you old fave

with a machine ,one by terry martin ,jim the genius have him shape one,dick brewer can do one

,skip frye will you just have to wait your turn,

yep phil edwards do one, spirit forms of long deceased shapers in seances in shaping psychic temples,

shape a couple yourself,have some guy you pick up hitch hiking shape one,

have a drunk from arround the campfire under the pier shape two.

owl might shape one,shape another after you watch owl,

get cort gion to shape one,get ahold of duck from I.B to do one,

dick catri get one from him.hynson ask politely say pplease.

is yhet twenty?

pick the best one and sell the rest to the gugginheim/

or donate them to th SHF take a tax credit

to offset your federal bailout check.

…ambrose…

this was a smart alec answer.

the likely hood of reproducing

the love and delight you derived

from that pefectly tuned wonderful board

from yoour past experience is highly unlikely.

get a new board that is close and learn from it to make new memories

that build on your love of that cool old board.

some day you will ride it and not like it as much as your new board.

Any number of talented shapers in your area could make decent attempts at duplicating your old fave, but even the original guy would tell you that exact duplication by hand is impossible–too many variables. Decrease your odds by a magnitude of 1000 if you’re trying to do it yourself. A board that old will have changed its performance by now due to various compressions, repairs, water taken on, etc. Get a new stick and ride it 'til you get to know it.

I will never fail to appreciate the ability of surfers to be sage, smart-a**ed and hilarious simultaneously. Thanks, Ambrose, I kind of guessed the magic would be nigh on impossible to duplicate, but I had to ask. She looks great in my rafters regardless of the outcome of my clone quest! Hope Kauai is as gorgeous as I remember her…

That question has led alot of us towards this

and this

Or go talk/interview several shapers to find one who will duplicate it for you. Go with the one who mentions extra $$

for copying, most likely the others will just fudge it.

Many thanks gents. You’ve confirmed my first suspicions that my shaper, Jon Folliott w/ Biohazard, should just take this project on for me. I appreciate you taking the time. Mahalo!

Ambrose, that’s only 16… so he can still send one to Reno, one to Ole, give Carl Olsen a crack at another, and save the last one for when unshaped blanks become collectors items that sell on eBay for ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

You counted!

And the thunder rolled when I read sixteen

just like the sesame street count

doing the count!

HOORAY!!

…ambrose…

Ambrose, I just finished trying to duplicate one of my own boards and the rails in the center came out too thick compared to the original, don’t go and get me in trouble with the gang now.

Grandmas hairspray and christmas wrapping paper, bottom first, cut a clean lap and wrap again, this time the deck, use a different paper though so you can get the rail apex perfectly.

Excellent suggestion. Many thanks!

You’ll never make a perfect copy, but you can make a good copy.

For the planshape, you can get reasonably close making a few templates from the original and transferring to the new blank.

Measure rocker and thickness every foot, and match them both during the foiling.

Use a straight edge and mark and measure bottom contours. Transfer measurements/marks to the newly foiled blank, and rough them in.

Rails are the hardest, but rough them out thick and make adjustments from there 'till they feel right in your hand when you put the board under your arm. Pay particular attention to where your hard, tucked edges fade in/out.

Eyeball the deck contours and try to match them when blending your rails into your deck.

This is what works for me.

from one perhaps higher perspective

as expressed by the esteemed james

you have achieved awareness

when you indeed can perceive

the diference. vive la diff.

every Diffenderfer was…unique.

when they are the same

or one believes they are the same

the design has been diluted

and the viewer deluded.

as a deeluded visionary

all the followers of proported

estimates and directions

eventually can realise they

are simply out in left field

straddling the foul line

and not surfing at the beach

when the umpire is a bum

the umpire is a bum.

any body that says the copy

is a perfect reproduction

should recieve Knowing nods and little else.

dont disturb them as they may become violent

if confronted, yep sure it is >>> just like the original

wow how could a mere mortal be so accurate?

man thats great great Great! cool dud e.

reason with them until far enough away then run for the water…

…ambrose…

same page when one rail is diffrent than the other

harder softer upper downer pick a rail

template that one evolve the board love.

Rocker stick, calipers, a straight short bit of wood for laying across concaves and your eye! Designing it in a shaping program doesn’t hurt either!

If you substitute the hairspray for resin and the christmas paper with fiber glass cloth be sure to use a mould release.

*** Please note, Mr. ‘Thrailkill’ hipped me to that/this… *** BillThrailkill had the best way to match rocker and foil in one feel swoop. Look him up, and his posts.

Don’t forget - or mis-estimate, as I just kinda did, how much thickness/width is added by the glass/glue layer(s). Turns out 4 layers of 6oz comes out pretty thick… good thing I’m shooting for new magic! Ha!

excellent…you guys all rock. I am going to attempt a mix of all of these. I will post my results! Look for 8’6" singlefin, designed originally for Trestles in 1986. I really appreciate all the expertise.

Being in San Clemente you are surrounded by so much talent. Have Steve Bambridge re-make it for you (Works at Cole).

Rick Rock is another talent that could nail it. He’s at Timmy Pattersons old bay down in the surf Getto. (Los Molinos)

Everything you need is in the Getto!

My big problem in life right now is I’m NOT in San Clemente. Heard this before? I moved for a woman I’m not w/ anymore and now I’m stuck. I do have shaping resources but I’d prefer to take a stab at this myself. There’s great tips and suggestions pouring in, and regardless how well the final result turns out, I’ll be stoked I gave it a try…

If you want, you can send 2 good pictures (frontview and sideview) to me and I’ll import them into an Autocad project. Then I can easily extract the outline and rockerline and take mesurements on them every 5 or 10 inches.

This way you can, at least, build a super close tolerant foam blank.

It’s the way I copy mi surfboards and sailboards.